Anyone surprised at how long they will be wfh?

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DH's company finally ordered some office equipment for the staff, delivery date in 8 wks time! He & I never expected to wfh this long & lots of our friends have been told they won't be going back till the NY.

Anyone else in the same boat?

I miss my office, but it was a pretty quiet empty office anyway.

I expect to be wfh till at least september, I'd be happy to continue wfh for longer but my eyes may regret it as my laptop is one of those windows surface tablet type things so not very big. But even so I could manage, may need to figure out how to fit a desk of some sort in my house though

We've been told we'll need to do risk assessments if this goes on and I've told them there's no point, I'll definitely fail! Printer cable trailing across two doorways, poor lighting etc.

I like a balance personally as I miss the chat & I do prefer larger meetings in person as opposed to over zoom.

DH's work won't be back this year. He worked from home anyway as they closed his base a while ago go and because of where he does site visits, it made no sense to move him to another office. But now everyone has been told WFH till the end of the year at least. Then I expect it will be heavily encouraged. It suits both of us; we are not office-type people! I am SE and WFH all the time anyway.

We each have our own proper office though, which makes a big different.

That is categorically not the case for the vast majority of office tenants. Rent is still being paid as that’s not how commercial rents work.

Husband’s work, having made 25% of people redundant, are now renegotiating their lease terms so they have half the office footprint. They provide services to hospitality and tourism so they are right down to the wire. Remaining staff are taking a 10% pay cut. He’s negotiated to WFH at least 3 days a week as part of the new contract, which will save on commuting costs and offset some of the pay cut.

My own, larger, work is modelling a much larger proportion of the workforce WFH permanently in future, even after all infection control measures are lifted. As part of that we will look to shrink our office footprint in longer time.

We have previously had one of us WFH one day a week (alternating). I’m going to wfh at least two days a week in future. We’ll still need after school club but simply not needing breakfast club will save us £2k a year for two kids. Plus the other benefits gained by saving 2h a day commuting.

And I’ve just realised I totally missed the point of your post and I’m replying to the wrong thing...

My boss had offered me WFH full time before Covid happened, if my desk is needed to allow social distancing for other staff, I’ll happily pack it up.

I’m currently sharing the dining table with my daughters. We leave stuff out during the week, but put everything away at weekends to use the table for family meals.

We have 2 spare rooms, but neither currently has room to put a desk in. We do have room for a desk downstairs, but the room is dark and I don’t want to be in there full time/long term.

DH has been told end of the year likely, I’ve not heard anything but likely to be the same.

I’m pregnant and due in December, so it’s weird to think, all being well, I might not see my colleagues from March 2020-Jan 2022.

NHS, one branch of my team has been told to continue wfh and running virtual clinics only for 18 months. These patients usually have physical examinations 🤷🏽‍♀️. Added in to that the there isn't enough tech for them so people are using own computers and having to sit on their beds etc. There will never be any support with furniture, correct seating etc. Hideous.

July 2021!!! WTF

Our company are planning to open offices in a couple of weeks but only for people that can get in without public transport.

If you use that you are expected to continue wfh.

And I’ve just realised I totally missed the point of your post and I’m replying to the wrong thing.

@JassyRadlett You are right, where tenants have businesses that are horribly affected by COVID, there are some rental concessions being granted as it’s in no ones interest for businesses to enter insolvency, but it’s not the norm.

As for the long term...who knows. We’ve been told that we won’t be expected to be in more than 2-3 days a week ever again. I don’t want to wfh full time - I’ve decided it’s great for doing work that needs to be done, but not great for innovation or idea generation. I desperately miss the organic collaboration that naturally happens in the office & impossible to recreate on Zoom.

Wow, this is kind of depressing but maybe not surprising. I'm wfh. Management are tight lipped about us going back. Rumours are they are "taking a long term view". I may never go back, at this rate - not far off retirement!

Jesus this thread is terrifying. I am WFH and hate it. We have no room , I’m trying to do Zoom calls in the kitchen or from my bedroom, I don’t see any other people, have no social interaction, am trying to manage a team by WhatsApp and Zoom. It’s utter shit. I go into my office two days a week by special dispensation and I live for those two days. I cannot, just cannot, continue working from home. It’s driving me insane!
I’m praying we are all back in June

DS’s organisation had him working from home a couple of weeks before lockdown. So he took the opportunity to give notice on his flat and move back in with us for the duration.

Now getting a London salary and living up north; he’s raking it in.
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We've not been told how long we will be at home for but it is working really well and we already had about 20% of our staff who work in field based roles so already wfh.

My boss says we won't be back anytime soon, the CEO indicates months.

I'm so grateful I have my chair from work at home plus all my normal IT equipment. After a few weeks of being in the dining room we caved and bought a desk and turned one of the spare rooms into an office and it is so much better.

We've also been asked if we want to wfh more long term and I've said I'd like to split the week.

DH has been wfh for several years - computer industry.
It's a very positive experience for him.
The saving in time commuting & money in motoring costs is enormous.

I used to wfh whenever possible as well - can't understand why anyone would not want to do it if possible.

I (in Berlin) got an e-mail from work that the covid-caused wfh will end on the 25th and only those caring for kids or those that need extra protecting can continue to do so.
But everybody stays equipped to wfh if necesssary.

January at the earliest for us.

Long term for us, at least until the end of the year for both of us...we have an ‘office’ (basically a sad box room with a desk) but the other works from the dining table. Not something we would have chosen and finding it hard not having ‘work’ space for both of us so there is a difference between work and sitting having our dinner. We might need a bigger house if this is forever!!!

Wfh in a small house with 2 toddlers and no childcare. There is nowhere quiet to work, even when their dad is here. There is no space for a desk of any kind. Everything must be packed up multiple times a day so the children can sit down at the table for meals. I am up past midnight daily getting things done, and I'm not even a ft worker. If it is a reasonable proposition to wfh in an inappropriate work environment and simultaneously care for 2 toddlers with no help, I'm not sure why I was paying out over a grand in childcare fees plus commutting costs before this happened??

We've been asked to complete a survey about the work we can and can't do from home, what would make things better at home and ideas for making offices safer and then a restart action plan will be produced. Ironically some of the things we can't do well from home (training on IT systems) will be hardest to do and distance in the office. We were also given a small budget for equipment which is great, but like others say not everyone has room to work. I really miss my team and the office but happy to have a supportive employer who asks us what we think about it.

My company, well known corporate has had a WFH policy since 1999, so WFH isnt a new concept, we all have laptops, secure remote access and flexibility with hours so very little change. They only have to make DSE compliant work areas for those that dont usually WFH.